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OverviewIn this inspiring devotional, commentary from ancient church fathers accompanies weekly Scripture readings following cycle A of the Revised Common Lectionary. Cindy Crosby and Thomas C. Oden also provide brief biographies of the church fathers

Publishers Description"To search the sacred Scripture is very good and most profitable for the soul. For, 'like a tree which is planted near the running waters, ' so does the soul watered by sacred Scripture also grow hearty and bear fruit in due season," writes John of Damascus in Orthodox Faith (4.17). By helping us to read holy writings with ancient eyes, the church fathers help us drink deeply from the only water that can give us true life. This guide to prayer and reflection combines excerpts from the writings of the church fathers as found in the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture with a simple structure for daily or weekly reading and prayer. There are fifty-two weeks of readings following the weekly lectionary cycle A. You can read through them in order or by thematic interest. Each day you will also find a simple opening and closing prayer drawn from the prayers and hymns of the ancient church. Come and find the deep nourishment God offers through the insights of this "cloud of witnesses"--the ancient church fathers.

Community Description"To search the sacred Scripture is very good and most profitable for the soul. For, 'like a tree which is planted near the running waters,' so does the soul watered by sacred Scripture also grow hearty and bear fruit in due season," writes John of Damascus in Orthodox Faith (4.17).

By helping us to read holy writings with ancient eyes, the church fathers help us drink deeply from the only water that can give us true life.

Edited by Cindy Crosby and Thomas C. Oden, this guide to prayer and reflection combines excerpts from the writings of the church fathers as found in the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (ACCS) with a simple structure for either daily or weekly reading and prayer.

Included are 52 weeks of readings following cycle A of the Revised Common Lectionary. You can read through them in order or by thematic interest. Each day you will also find a simple opening and closing prayer drawn from the prayers and hymns of the ancient church.

Market/Audience

* Devotional readers
* Readers of church history
* Worship team participants and leaders

Features and Benefits

* Connected to cycle A of the Revised Common Lectionary
* Brief biographies of the church fathers are provided
* Organized for weekly use so that you can go through the readings at your own pace each day or just once a week

Paperback 291 pages.

Please Note, Community Descriptions and notes are submitted by our shoppers, and are not guaranteed for accuracy.

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More About Thomas C. Oden & Cindy Crosby

Crosby is a freelance writer. She is a former independent bookstore owner.

Cindy Crosby currently resides in Glen Ellyn, in the state of Illinois. Cindy Crosby was born in 1961.

After purchasing my first copy, I bought several as gifts for friends and colleagues in my church. InterVarsity should be congratulated for a devotional that is ecumenically useful: evangelicals, mainline Protestants and Roman Catholics can profitably use this devotional to accompany the ecumenical lectionary through the church year with brief commentaries from the first centuries of Christian spirituality.

The devotional matches each reading from the Sunday lectionary with comments from the Church Fathers (and occasionally, Mothers). This is a rich source of Christian inspiration from ancient sources that until now have been unavailable to the average lay Christian. There are enough readings to make this a useful book of devotions for each day of the week.

You may have to learn something about the lectionary to use this book: the dates published in the devotional won't necessarily be the right dates when this year's edition (corresponding to Lectionary Year A) is used again three years from now. There's no problem with identifying Sundays like the "First Sunday in Lent," but at other times of the year (especially the later Sundays after Epiphany and the earlier Sundays after Pentecost) you'll need to match the readings with what your church is reading on the coming Sunday to figure out whether you're using the right week. So there's a bit of a learning curve. I wish this had been better explained in the introduction.

Some readers may not know that the lectionary that forms the basis of this devotional is the same used widely in Protestant and Anglican churches, and is very close to the Sunday mass lectionary used in the Roman Catholic Church.

Used with the Bible and any version of the "daily office" (as in the Book of Common Prayer or The New Century Psalter), this devotional can add value both to personal and public daily prayer.

A wonderful wealth of a resource Nov 27, 2007

I was so delighted to discover this wonderful devotional. The collection of writings from the church fathers is invaluable. So many modern Protestant Christians are unaware of the rich heritage we have in our history. This devotional is very thoughtful, but still very accessible. What a joy to journey into the heart of Christ with those who have gone before!

Not what I was looking for. Jul 3, 2007

If you are looking for weekly or yearly devotionals you probably already have at least one or two more satisfying than this one.If this is going to be your first devotional you will probably continue exploring and find others more completely satisfying.The use of the ancient fathers is good. I have found other books that much more completely discuss and quote the fathers to be more useful.

nourished from the the Church's life Jun 22, 2007

This is a unique devotional that I highly recommend for those interested in tying their spiritual lives closer to that of the Church. Each of the fifty-two weeks' readings is aimed at nourishing your mind and heart with wisely excerpts from the rich patristic heritage of the early Church. You may follow the lectionary itself or go on your own in a thematic approach.

What I would also suggest is that readers who are interested in this volume would consider the fact that all of the writers in this collection wrote out of their experience of the common liturgical life of the Church, with all of the holy days, Eucharistic celebrations, baptism, fasting periods and feasting periods etc. This book is a great example of the fruit that is born out of such a life, which still exists in the Eastern Orthodox tradition in full force. For these writers, Christianity was never a "me and Jesus" experience, but one which understood itself as part of the Body of Christ, partaking of the holy mysteries and worshipping at one altar before the triune God who has revealed Himself to us in His incarnate, crucified and resurrected Christ.

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